Category: C

Care provided over an extended period of time. The term may cover care during both wellness and illness, and varying levels of care, from intensive care to rest home care. It may also be provided in various settings.  

A review of a patient’s problem by a second individual, namely a physician or other health care provider (for example, a clinical psychologist), and the rendering of an opinion and advice to the referring physician. The review in most instances involves the independent examination of the patient by the consultant. In a consultation some evidence,…

The supposed tacit agreement among physicians (or other professionals) not to testify against one another in malpractice lawsuits. It is sometimes said that malpractice plaintiffs are not able to obtain a fair trial of their cases because the only way to prove the case is by expert testimony, and because of the so-called “conspiracy of…

The right of a husband or wife to the companionship, comfort, and aid-including sexual relationships-of his or her spouse. In a malpractice case, for example, if the husband has been injured, the wife may join as a plaintiff to recover for her loss of consortium.  

A law (or portion of a law) which allows individuals (or institutions) the right to refuse to do something which is contrary to their moral or religious beliefs. For example, some state laws regulating abortion specifically state that no hospital, physician, or hospital employee may be compelled to participate in an abortion. The employee would…

An organization, created by the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, which provides the U.S. Congress with analyses of alternative fiscal, programmatic, and budgetary issues. It has been involved in studying and making recommendations concerning the costs of alternative health care reform proposals.  

An imaging technique in which computer image processing technology is used to display the distribution of temperatures on the skin surfaces of patients. This method has achieved recognition as useful in neurology, surgery, orthopedic surgery, physiotherapy, emergency and trauma medicine, dermatology, and oncology.  

A severity of illness measurement method which uses objective data specially abstracted from the medical record (in contrast with methods which use standard discharge abstract data; see abstract and abstracting). Such a method could be used at intervals during care in order to assess response to treatment or progression of the illness. At present each…

A set of instructions to the computer (software) as to how to accomplish a given task (application), such as accounting or reporting laboratory results.  

A computer system which is able to send output to a CD-ROM, and is replacing computer output to microfilm/microfiche (COM) technology because (1) it has superior ability to retrieve information, since retrieval becomes a computer process rather than a manual-optical process, and (2) the information on the CD-ROM may be used directly as computer input.…